KOL Marketing: The Key To Success On Chinese Social Media

If you plan on entering the China market, KOL marketing is something you NEED to know about. KOL marketing, or influencer marketing, is a soft-selling strategy with influencers as the communicator between a brand and its target audience. It leverages word of mouth to achieve promotional effects. Working with KOLs can be one of the best methods for promoting a new product or service in China, so read on to learn more!

 

 

Table of Contents:

 

 

1. Weibo: The Chinese Twitter
2. WeChat: The #1 Social Media In China
3. XiaoHongShu: Where Reviews & Social Media Meets E-Commerce
4. TikTok: The Fastest Growing Social Media Platform
5. Kuaishou: The #2 Short Video Platform in China

1. How Much Should I Spend on KOL Marketing?
2. How Can I Get in Contact With KOLs?
3. Things To Know Before You Get Started With KOL Marketing

 

 

KOL Marketing: What is it and Why Should I Care?

 

 

Traditionally, KOLs, which stands for Key Opinion Leaders, refers to those who possess expert knowledge on a given subject matter. Usually, referring to professionals of their respective fields. Traditional KOLs are not based online and they do not interact with their audience on a regular basis.

 

 

In KOL marketing, KOL or influencer has a broader meaning than just professionals. They refer to people who exert influence over others’ opinions. There isn’t a strict definition for opinion leaders. Yet, most key opinion leaders are either Chinese celebrities or popular social media users who have created viral content and developed a large following on various social media websites. They are columnists, socialites, fashionistas, and bloggers that have developed massive digital audiences.

 

 

 

 

Many are experts in their respective fields who provide advice, instructions, reviews, etc. through a variety of digital mediums. There are Chinese KOLs actively posting about almost any topic you can imagine. Sports, video games, fashion, food, traveling, education, plastic surgery, luxury goods, cars, etc. all are topics that you’ll find these Chinese KOLs discussing.

 

 

KOLs can have millions of followers who follow their advice and actively engage with the content they create. The influence these figures wield can be considerable and working together with them can help create significant buzz for companies and their products.

 

 

 

 

If you’re a frequent Youtube user, you probably can think of a few people who could be considered a key opinion leader by this definition. On Youtube, there are people like Pewdiepie and Jeffree Star who have millions of followers. Their popularity has been used to advertise for companies all around the world successfully. While most western countries call these people influencers, it’s incredibly similar to the KOL phenomenon in Asia.

 

 

The 5 Benefits of KOL marketing

 

 

KOL marketing is everywhere, but what exactly sets KOL marketing apart from all the other marketing channels? Why would a brand choose to work with KOLs over more traditional channels like banner advertising or search engine marketing? Let’s take a look at the unique benefits of KOL marketing below.

 

 

#1 KOL Marketing Builds Trust

 

 

Because KOLs have established trust with their audience, they can be more convincing than traditional advertisements or branded content. A Mediakix survey at the end of 2018 found that 49% of consumers depend on KOLs’ recommendations for their purchase decisions. The numbers are even higher for Millennials and those in Gen-Z! For a better understanding of these younger generations, check out our blog on Chinese consumer behavior.

 

 

Brands can leverage the trust and word of mouth to their advantage. 3rd-Party reviews or mentions are incredibly important for any business and can be even more effective when coming from a KOL a user knows and trusts. As most Chinese maintain a healthy distrust of information distributed through traditional marketing channels, KOLs provide a form of advertising that can be seen as more genuine and trustworthy.

 

 

Many brands look at KOL marketing not just as a form of social media marketing, but as a part of their China public relations strategy. Working with KOLs allows brands to improve their brand image, build trust, and build awareness, all of these results share similarities with typical PR strategies in China.

 

 

 

 

#2 KOLs Have a Homogeneous Audience

 

 

Compared to mass media, KOLs have a more focused audience group. For example, followers of a beauty account are clearly interested in beauty. It is easier to reach a more targeted audience with KOL marketing as compared to other channels.

 

 

KOLs have the unprecedented ability to connect to specific segments of consumers based on demographics and lifestyle choices. While you might not be able to drill down into demographics and psychographics as deeply as would with paid advertising, you can get a good idea of a KOL’s audience by taking a look through the types of posts they create and the engagement they receive from their followers.

 

 

 

 

KOLs themselves often have a good gauge on the likes and dislikes of their audience, so speaking to them can also provide valuable insights for launching a successful campaign. From the earlier mentioned survey by Mediakix, 71% of marketers say the quality of customers and traffic from KOL marketing is better than other sources.

 

 

#3 KOL Marketing Has a Strong ROI

 

 

Every business should ensure that they set relevant KPIs before engaging in any KOL marketing campaign. Total reach, sales conversion, and click-through rate are common examples of KPI for measuring the performance of KOL marketing.  Choosing the right KOL to reach your target audience can help you to achieve these KPIs and deliver significant ROI for your business.

 

 

Overall, 89% of businesses say their ROI from KOL marketing is comparable to or even better than other marketing channels according to Mediakix.

 

 

 

 

Another way to drive even more out of KOL marketing is to repurpose KOL generated content. Brands should negotiate with KOLs to ensure that they receive permission to re-publish and repurpose content for future marketing campaigns. Since the content created by KOLs is typically high quality it can be repurposed for a variety of different marketing channels. This makes the ROI from KOL marketing, not just a one-off event but something that can be used to drive traffic and engagement over time!

 

 

#4 KOLs Create High-Quality Content & Know How To Improve Reach

 

 

The reason KOLs have such large audiences is that they are typically very skilled at creating high-quality content. They know what their audience likes and create different styles of content to engage their audiences and promote brands effectively

 

 

KOLs are also often well-versed in techniques to drive additional reach, views, and engagement on their content. For example, like on Instagram, KOLs can add location labels on their posts. KOLs may do this to document offline events, conduct reviews and show off exclusive in-store products on a range of different platforms to further improve their reach locally.

 

 

For example, Tiktok users can click on location tags and discover other videos taken at the same place.  As for Xiaohongshu, the ‘Nearby’ function enables users to search only for content that has been tagged with a location in the proximity. This creates an online entertainment and experiential channel for consumers that is linked to their own physical location. LBS technology combined with KOL marketing is an interesting feature that can improve exposure and boost O2O conversion for businesses.

 

 

 

 

Content created by KOLs has to be well-designed and high quality to sate the needs of their audience. Brands that work with KOLs can often repurpose this content for future campaigns, enabling them to drive even more value from their KOL marketing efforts. Brands repurpose this content into different formats and distribute it across other channels drastically improving the results from the initial campaign.

 

 

#5 KOL Marketing Can Be More Affordable Than a Celebrity Endorsement

 

 

The collaboration fee with KOLs varies across a wide range. Oftentimes, the more followers a KOL has, the more expensive it will be to collaborate with them. Of course, the size of a fan base is not the only indicator for pricing, also past engagement rate, click rate, and conversion rate are all important KPIs that factor into a KOL’s price. How much a KOL likes a brand or its products can also have a significant impact on the price of working with a KOL.

 

 

While KOL marketing is relatively new, celebrity endorsements and appointing brand ambassadors has been a marketing strategy used by companies around the world for decades. Working with celebrities in this manner is notoriously expensive and is something only available to large, often multinational, brands.

 

 

 

 

While there is no standardized pricing system for KOL marketing, it can be significantly cheaper than working with celebrities. While some larger KOLs might charge prices similar to those of celebrities, working with smaller KOLs is something even small businesses can afford to do.

 

 

Types of Content for KOL Marketing in China

 

 

There are two main types of content for KOL marketing in China: User-generated content (UGC) and Promotional Content.

 

 

For user-generated content (UGC), or user-created content (UCC), KOLs create their own content, using their own tools to promote a given product or company. The marketers may provide them with a product, a key message or a theme. While the materials given are varied, content formats are usually predetermined by businesses for consistency.

 

 

Promotional materials are contents created by marketers and reposted by KOLs, like campaign posters or event outlines. In this case, if the business chooses to work with multiple KOLs, each KOL will have the same content in the same content format.

 

 

 

 

The Most Common Content Formats Used For KOL Marketing in China

 

 

Platforms for KOL marketing in China are quite different from those in the West as Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube are banned. The platforms can be differentiated by content formats into three major categories: blogging, short videos, and live-streaming.

 

 

 

 

#1 Blogging platforms refer to those with mainly textual and graphical content, namely Weibo, WeChat, and Zhihu. Contents on these platforms are mostly UGC, like testimonials and product reviews. The majority of KOLs operate on these types of platforms but others are steadily gaining ground.

 

 

 

 

#2 Short video platforms are usually for value creation and brand awareness, or product seeding. Compared to traditional advertisements, it is a more indirect channel for raising the audience’s interest in the product. Businesses can create tutorials, promo-videos, or in-depth reviews on these platforms to arouse user interest and answer questions.

 

 

Different platforms have different video length limits. For instance, Tiktok has a limit of 15 seconds for each video while Xiaohongshu allows up to 1 minute.

 

 

 

 

According to contentmarketing.com, 58% of smartphone users watch short videos (less than 5 mins) every day. China’s short video market is even more robust with 78% of all internet users watching short videos in 2019! Short videos are all the rage and have become an important tool to capture user attention in our increasingly fragmented lives.

 

 

#3 Live-streaming platforms are the closest possible alternative to in-store shopping for users online. KOLs can have a real-time demonstration of the functionalities and specifications of a product in greater detail. At the same time, the audience can raise questions to the KOLs to eliminate any doubts they have before making a purchase. This makes it one of the most effective methods for driving sales.

 

 

 

 

The Top KOL Marketing Platforms in China

 

 

#1. Weibo: The Chinese Twitter

 

 

Weibo is the Chinese version of Twitter. With a large and stable user base, KOL marketing on Weibo helps raise brand awareness. According to a report by Weibo with iResearch, 53.9% of all the KOLs’ followers are aged under 25.

 

 

If your business targets a younger audience, Weibo might be the platform for you. Weibo is a highly visual platform so ensuring that you have high-quality visuals as well as interesting content is very important for success on the platform.

 

 

For more on KOL marketing on Weibo check out one of our related posts below!

 

4 Astonishing Weibo KOL Marketing Trends To Know (2019)

 

 

 

 

#2 WeChat: The #1 Social Media in China

 

 

WeChat is an all-in-one platform in China, offering everything from messaging to e-payments. KOLs on WeChat are more like bloggers. The content they post is long and is usually made up of a combination of text and visuals. WeChat KOLs post regularly with most of them either contributing to or managing their own WeChat Official Account. KOL marketing on WeChat is better for more informative content as users are more willing to read.

 

 

One unique feature that WeChat offers is KOL advertising. This allows brands to place banner advertisements within the content of a KOL’s posts. Brands must negotiate with KOLs individually to purchase this form of WeChat advertising.

 

 

 

 

 

#3 Xiaohongshu (RED): Where Reviews & Social Media Meets E-Commerce

 

 

Xiaohongshu KOLs are a bit more varied in the types of content that they share. KOLs on Xiaohongshu mostly share personal stories, testimonials, product review, or even live-streams. The authentic and relatable content makes it a suitable platform for building brand awareness, trust, and increasing sales.

 

 

Like Weibo, Xiaohongshu has a young audience with over 70% of Xiaohongshu’s users being born in the post-1990s. However, unlike Weibo Xiaohongshu has a user base that is almost entirely female, with a report from iResearch claiming that over 80% of Xiaohongshu users are female.

 

 

For more information on XiaoHongShu check out one of our related posts below:

 

The Best Guide To XiaoHongShu Marketing: How to Sell to Gen-Z & Millenials 

 

 

 

 

#4 Tiktok: The Fastest Growing Social Media Platform

 

 

Tiktok is the #1 short video platform in China, and the first Chinese social media platform to gain any traction abroad. Videos on TikTok have a strict limit on their length with the longest allowed being only 15 seconds!

 

 

Due to how short the videos are, content posted on the platform is often seen quickly and has a high potential to go viral. KOL marketing on Tiktok is like viral marketing, better for raising brand awareness and promoting events as opposed to driving sales. Tiktok has an even younger audience as compared to Xiaohongshu and Weibo with 50% of its users being born post-1995.

 

 

 

 

#5 Kuaishou: The #2 Short Video Platform in China

 

 

Kuaishou is now the second-largest video platform. While it has many features like that of TikTok, it has also added live-streaming to the platform. As the purchase cycle digitalizes, live-streaming is becoming more essential to capturing online sales in China. The user demographics of Kuaishou are similar to Tiktok, with the major difference being that Kuaishou is more popular outside of Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

 

 

While you may be tempted to skip this one in favor of TikTok, Kuaishou is not a platform to be ignored. On 4 July 2019, Chinese artist Aaron Kwok Fu Shing collaborated with Kuaishou KOL Simba (Account ID on Kuaishou:188888880) on live streaming. The total number of viewers recorded exceeded 1.1million and total sales recorded from the streaming was as high as 4 million.

 

 

 

 

How To Choose The Right KOL For Your Business

 

 

The five tiers of KOLs are divided by the number of followers.

 

 

 

 

There are five main criteria businesses should consider before making their KOL selection:

 

 

#1 Relevance refers to the similarities between your target audience and the KOL’s fan base. Looking into the KOL’s follower demographics can be a great way to determine if a KOL is a good fit for your business. Like all other marketing strategies, KOL marketing is more effective if it reaches the right audience.

 

 

#2 Reach is the promotional effect of a KOL’s content. For instance, total views and shares. Reach is highly dependent on the number of followers a KOL has and the overall quality of their followers. Content will have also have a better reach if the KOL includes more relevant keywords and posts during peak traffic hours.

 

 

 

 

#3 Engagement is the interaction between the KOL and their audience. How many followers comment on the posts, how frequently or how timely does the KOL reply? All of these factors increase a user’s trust in a KOL. When the audience has more trust in a KOL, the promotions will be more effective.

 

 

#4 Influence is the actual return for the business from KOL marketing. Sales conversion is the most common measurement, with an average rate of 1-5% for most KOLs.

 

 

#5 Consistency refers to maintaining a consistent image for your business. The KOL will be your communicator, his / her image should align with your brand image. For example, a company for protein powder should look for a KOL with a healthy and sporty image. A KOL that is inconsistent or behaves erratically can be damaging for a brand so it’s important to choose KOL who value their own image and maintain consistency.

 

 

 

 

These criteria are just for reference. KOL marketing is flexible, so don’t be limited by the norms! Always try to work with KOLs from different backgrounds, genders, or niches for a more unique impression.

 

 

For example, makeup brands usually prefer to work with female KOLs. However, MAC collaborated with male artist Zhang Yixing, and other micro-KOLs in one of their campaigns with outstanding results!

 

 

To maximize promotional effects, multi-tiered KOL marketing is a common practice. Collaborating with both big and small KOLs can optimize the reach of your campaign. For more on the rise of nano-KOLs check out our blog below on the latest trends in Chinese digital marketing. 

 

 

 

 

 

How Much Should I Spend On KOL Marketing?

 

 

If there is no standard pricing system for KOL marketing, how can you estimate the budget? In general, there are 4 ways to pay a KOL: Product sponsorship, one-off payment, CPC, and sales commission.

 

 

For product sponsorship, you simply give away products to KOLs for them to try and use in their videos. This is a very common practice in the Western world, but a bit less so in China. You’ll often see influencers on Youtube operating under this model. Some KOLs will even put a tag like ‘Not paid to mention’ because only the products are sponsored and they are not exactly paid to mention the product publicly.

 

 

 

 

A one-off payment is the simplest way to pay a KOL. After discussing and settling all the arrangements, you pay a lump sum to the KOL. There is no need to worry about the varying costs for KOL marketing in this case. This is one of the most commonly used methods in China, especially for mid-high level KOLs (sometimes they’ll even ask for a lump sum + sales commission).

 

 

CPC payment is the first of the two performance-based payment methods. The KOL charges the customer for every click made through a trackable link, meaning you will only know the total payment after the campaign has been completed. This is similar to what many in the west know as affiliate marketing. You can estimate the total cost with the past averages for budgeting purposes.

 

 

Percentage of sales is another performance-based payment. Based on the total sales volume, a certain percentage of it will go to the KOL. This motivates the KOL to drive sales, common for businesses focusing on sales conversion. This is another common payment method used for KOL marketing in China and is often combined with the one-off payment method for higher tier KOLs.

 

 

 

 

Even for the same tier of KOLs, the price range can be wide. It is always best to negotiate with the KOL and take reference from past charges. Also, do a little marketing math to try and predict the ROI based on KPIs provided by the KOL. If the math doesn’t add up then chances are it won’t be a good move for your business

 

 

Here are some reference figures on KOL marketing:

 

 

In terms of cost, Weibo is the cheapest and Tiktok is the most expensive.

 

 

The cost per view on a WeChat article is 0.5 to 1.5 RMB. On average, a WeChat post costs up to 55 times more than a Weibo post.

 

 

While WeChat posts are more costly than Weibo posts, they have a far higher click-through rate (CTR).

 

 

 

 

How can I get in contact with KOLs?

 

 

First, reach out to the KOLs directly. If you don’t know where to start, try looking up hashtags or keywords on different social media platforms. Like Instagram, the search results are usually ranked according to relevance and popularity. This method is more suitable for finding mega-KOLs.

 

 

Second, contact them through KOL agencies. These agencies usually have a well-established KOL network, offering one-stop KOL marketing services. They are more experienced in communicating with KOLs but there might be an agency fee in addition to payment for the KOL.

 

 

 

 

Things To Know Before You Get Started With KOL Marketing

 

 

#1 Consumers Behave Differently Online

 

 

Traditionally, consumer behavior follows an AIDMA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Memory Action) model.  This model is linear and with the first two stages being the same for both online and offline consumers. Digital consumers have now shifted to a non-linear AISAS model (Attention, Interest, Search, Action, Share), where consumers can repeat or skip steps.

 

 

This has made predicting consumer behavior more difficult but does come with additional benefits, one of which being that consumers now share their experiences online. These customer reviews are important channels to increase exposure for your brand and building trust.

 

 

According to a report by TrustRadius, 84% of consumers trust peer’s online reviews. Because of how powerful Word of Mouth is, you want to make sure people talk about the good things. KOL marketing is a great way to establish a positive brand image.

 

 

If you’d like to know more about Chinese consumer behavior check out the blog below:

 

Chinese Consumer Behavior: 7 Key Features For Brands To Know

 

 

 

#2 KOL Marketing Is A Form Of Experiential Marketing

 

 

Experiential marketing is about creating a positive customer experience. By creating a positive customer experience brands are able to associate positive emotions with their brand in a consumer’s mind. Unlike conventional marketing, you want to engage consumers in as many ways as possible. Positive user experience can lead to higher top-of-mind awareness for potential customers and increased brand loyalty for existing customers.

 

 

 

While KOL promotion might be a form of experiential marketing you’ll want to make sure that the experience continues once a conversion is made or the campaign comes to an end for your target customers. For example, launching an amazing promotional campaign that leads users to a poorly designed landing page will not go over well, and will likely end up being a waste of resources.

 

 

#3 KOL Marketing Is A Soft Selling Strategy

 

 

Conventional marketing approaches are hard selling and tend to put more pressure on the audience. KOL marketing is a more subtle, low-pressure and more persuasive selling approach. It is easier for potential customers to give your product a real look without feeling pressured making it less likely to push them away. This has a lot to do with user intent on social media.

 

 

When users log in to WeChat, Weibo, or TikTok, they aren’t looking to be sold something. In most cases, they are on the platform to read content, interact with friends, or just watch some funny videos. KOLs need to be careful with their promotions to avoid alienating followers who are just there to have a good time, which is why they typically opt for a more soft-selling strategy.

 

 

However, there are ways to work with KOLs in a more hard-selling manner. This is done by working with KOLs active on platforms with a higher “buyer intent,” such as on Taobao or T-Mall. These platforms have their own social media aspects and given the nature of the platform, viewers tend to expect more of a hard-sell from these KOLs. If you’re in the e-commerce business and are more focused on driving sales as opposed to building up your brand these might be the right type of KOLs to work with.

 

 

Two Examples of Chinese KOLs and Why They’re So Successful

 

 

#1 李佳琦 Li Jiaqi

 

 

Li Jiaqi is a male beauty KOL with 27 million followers on Tiktok and 6.15 million followers on Xiaohongshu. He first began his streaming career on Taobao and his popularity grew exponentially when he began posting on Xiaohongshu.

 

 

During this event, he sold 15,000 lipsticks in just 5 minutes! Li Jiaqi also has a personal record of selling 14,000 lipsticks in 1 minute during a live-stream on Taobao. During the Double-11 Shopping Festival in 2018, Li Jiaqi live-streamed with Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, on Tiktok.

 

 

Li Jiaqi’s success can be credited to the following reasons:

 

 

#1. Li Jiaqi is a professional makeup artist. For instance, he can always give a precise description of lipstick colors or what skin tone would suit a color the best. His professional knowledge increases his credibility and the audience is willing to trust his recommendations.

 

 

 

 

#2. Li Jiaqi has a personal style and is consistent with it. While streaming, he always has a lot of expressions, like ‘OH MY GOD’ or ‘This is a MUST-have’. Some may say he is too dramatic, but it is his signature. Li Jiaqi’s consistent editing style and dramatic tone successfully captured a loyal audience.

 

 

 

 

#3. He is a male KOL. Most of the KOLs in the beauty industry are female, making him stand out in the KOL industry. Hearing comments from a male is convincing to the female audience as if a guy says the color looks good on them, they are more likely to buy the product. To the male audience, it is rare for them to find a male KOL sharing about beauty or even makeup products, which makes him incredibly popular with men interested in these products.

 

 

If you are to ask the Chinese netizens to name top the beauty KOLs, Li Jiaqi will probably top the list.

 

 

#2 张大奕 Zhang Dayi, Eve

 

 

Zhang Dayi, better known as Eve, is considered to be the No.1 KOL in Chinese e-commerce, with 11.18 million followers on Weibo. Eve was a model for fashion magazines and her career kicked off when she won champion in Taobao’s Best-looking Bare Face Competition.

 

 

Eve was listed in TIME Magazine’s 25 Most Influential People on the Internet 2018 among other superstars like US President Donald Trump, Korean Boys Group BTS, and American Singer Ariana Grande.

 

 

Eve gained her popularity In June 2016 when she recorded total sales of 20 million RMB and 410 thousand total views during a 2-hour live stream on Taobao. She has continued to make astonishing sales since. She is now the CMO of Ruhnn Holding, a KOL agency, that was recently listed on the US stock market.

 

 

 

 

Eve’s good looks are no doubt a competitive advantage, but her likable style is also a key reason for her success. Followers take reference on how she styled basic clothing items and forms a habit of doing so. Gradually, Eve has developed an incredibly loyal fan base.

 

 

To take advantage of this, Eve shares her clothing of the day with the hashtag #ootd (outfit of the day) with product links in the posts. This redirects traffic from and to her Taobao shop, boosting reach and conversions.

 

 

Key Takeaways From Case Studies:

 

 

#1 Personal Style Matters

 

 

Find a KOL with a memorable or refreshing characteristic. It helps the audience to remember your brand better. If the KOLs you work with do not have a personal style, people are not going to recall them or your brand.

 

 

KOLs come and go, especially in China, so make sure you choose someone with unique characteristics that are likely to stick around!

 

 

#2 Try To Post Regularly To Maintain A Loyal Audience

 

 

If the KOLs do not engage with their followers regularly, it is unlikely that they will trust the KOLs. The KOLs should also have balanced content. Apart from promotional content, there should also be original content. Otherwise, they lose credibility.

 

 

It’s common to see KOLs fall out of favor in China due to being overly promotional, so check their post history to make sure they aren’t overdoing it!

 

 

 

 

The Future Development of KOL Marketing

 

 

In China, the overall CTR for display advertisements is only 0.12%. Compared to the average CTR for Google Ads on the display network across all industries is also only 0.46%. To cope with low CTR numbers, many businesses have been going for more soft selling strategies like KOL marketing.

 

 

 

 

In the last three years, the number of google searches for ‘influencer marketing’ has grown 1500%. The KOL marketing industry is set to reach 10 billion by 2020 according to Influencer Marketing Hub. There’s even an influencer marketing agency listed on the Nasdaq!

 

 

KOL marketing, or influencer marketing, has yet to reach its full potential. It is a new marketing approach not just in China, but on a global scale. Find out more about KOL marketing in our blogs below!